


You Saved Me

by RainbowWhite



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Cute, Drama, Family Issues, M/M, Romance, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2018-12-14 21:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11791515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowWhite/pseuds/RainbowWhite
Summary: Sonny and Pete have been friends for so long they don't hide anything from each other. But do they really ? When family gets in the way, is it worth losing your best friend just to protect him ?CW. Slight violence/family abuse hinted





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction around the In the Heights universe, and I'm really proud to share it with you !  
> The first chapter is only a kind of prologue to get in the mood of the relationship between Sonny and Pete, the next ones will be longer and more drama filled.

The sun was shining on the barrio. It was the afternoon, a bit past lunch. Sonny had the day free and he had decided to explore the city. Exploring to him was mostly going to places he already knew and remembering memories from there. He knew the barrio like the back of his hand. He spent all of his (still short) existence here. Walking in the streets. Talking to the peeps. His family. His home.  
The young man was skipping to the rhythm of Go your own way blasting through the headphones Usnavi had gave him years ago when he felt an arm appear on his shoulders. He immediately smiled and took off his headphones, knowing perfectly who it was.

“Hey Pete.”

Despite what his cousin kept telling him about this guy - Graffiti Pete is what they called him - Sonny kept spending all his free time with him ; and that was a lot of time. He knew he might seem rough and “from the street”, but nobody saw what Sonny could see in him. The kindness, the sensibility. He never had trusted anyone like he trusted Pete. And let’s be honest, they were all a bit “from the street”.

“Sonny ! What were you listening to again ?

\- Eh, nothing.” Sonny fumbled with his phone to try and change the music before Pete could hear it. He had made a bit of a habit to gently mock him on his obsession with this song and even if Sonny knew it was only banter, he still blushed every time it was mentioned.  
But he was too slow, and Pete grabbed his headphones and put them on before he could do anything. A smile grew on his face as soon as he recognized the song. Sonny blushed. Pete then proceeded to blast out the lyrics of the song while keeping Sonny from taking back his headphones.

“Oh come on ! Stop this everyone’s gonna hear you !”

It lasted a few minutes before Pete took pity of his friend and put the headphones back around his neck while laughing.

“You’re the worst.

\- But you still love me, Pete said while putting his arm back around Sonny’s shoulder and the boy couldn’t help but smile, who wants a piragua ?

\- You can’t buy my love.

\- But you still want one.

\- … yes I do.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonny and Pete have been friends for so long they don't hide anything from each other. But do they really ? When family gets in the way, is it worth losing your best friend just to protect him ?
> 
> CW. Slight violence/family abuse hinted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who read last chapter ! I didn't expect as much involvement as I got and it really motivated me to write more so here is next chapter :) still not into the main drama yet but we're warming up to it !

Sonny had to talk. Every day he spent stuck in his head, he grew more confused of his own feelings. The way he shivered every time there was a contact, the pulling in his guts every time they were a bit too close to each other, his mind wandering to stuff he probably shouldn’t think about while in a conversation with someone… He perfectly knew what all of this meant but what if he was wrong ? And what was he supposed to do with it ?

Sonny had to talk to someone, but who ? He would usually go to Usnavi when he had any problem, but this was more complicated than a problem, and considering his cousin’s expertise on the subject… he’ll pass. This is when not having parents really sucked. When all of your parent figures are dead, who are you supposed to turn to for adult stuff ?

With uncertainty, Sonny started walking towards the Rosario’s house. Sure they weren’t blood, but Nina was the closest Sonny had to a big sister ; and these were supposed to be the kind of people you go to for that, right ? Plus, Nina had always been the more open minded and supportive person in his entourage - excluding Pete, of course. But he 100% could not go to his best friend for this.

When he knocked at the door, still shaking a bit, Benny was the one to open. They greeted each other before Sonny asked if Nina was there and her boyfriend joked about how if he was there to steal her away, he had no chance of succeeding. Sonny laughed a little - probably less than he should have - and got led into the living room where nina was looking through old pictures. A warm smile appeared on her face when she saw him.

“Come sit here ! How are you doing ? Do you want something to drink ?

\- Good… great. No ; no it’s ok.

\- Is something wrong ?”

Of course she would notice. She had this thing where Sonny didn’t have to talk for her to understand ; which made starting conversations a lot more easier. By putting his hands around his knee he had his shaking in control, but he couldn’t stop his voice fucking up and stammering. Now that he was here, he had to talk, but where was he supposed to start ?

“No, nothing’s wrong…

\- Sonny, she smiled, you know you can talk to me.

\- Yes but I mean it. Nothing’s wrong. It’s… kinda good actually.

\- Go on.” But from the look on her face, Sonny knew she had already figured out what he was gonna say. There aren’t lots of things you can say to someone that are good but also nerve wracking ; and he had already came out.

“Well, I don’t know, I think I might… have feelings, for someone ? And it’s, it’s probably just silly and nothing will ever come out of it but I keep thinking about it and I don’t know, I just needed to talk to someone about it. I’m trying very hard not to think about it but it keeps coming up in my mind and I can’t help it. It’s making something great into something amazing, but also uncomfortable. Sometimes.”

Talking about it felt like breathing again for the first time in months. Even though Sonny had been saying these thoughts in his mind again and again for, let’s be honest, more than a few weeks, hearing them out loud made everything more real and, strangely, ok.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this Sonny.

\- Okay but, don’t tell anyone ok ? Especially not the guys. I don’t want them to like, make assumptions or something.”

He could already imagine Benny and Usnavi assuming every girl Sonny would talk to would be the one ; and them being not subtle at all about it.

“I won’t, I promise. Can I maybe ask you a question ?

\- … Yes, yeah I think so.

\- Are they a boy or a girl ?”

That… was definitely not something Sonny expected. Out of all the questions she could have asked… why was this one so important ? How would it change anything ? His feeling were the same, it didn’t… But then again, he knew it was important. He knew it would go differently ; if anything ever came out of it. He knew it would be difficult again, like it had been years ago, and this time what if he didn’t have his best friend to help him through it ? Suddenly it didn’t feel that ok anymore.  
Nina realised Sonny’s face had dropped, and she apologized before hugging him.

“Well no matter what, you are an amazing boy and if that person can’t see that, it’s their loss. But do try and talk to them ok ? You never know until you try.”

Sonny nodded and after being asked again, agreed on having a glass of juice. Nina then proceeded to show him the pictures she was looking at before he arrived, and they stayed there talking and laughing for a while.  
When he left as it was becoming to get dark, Sonny felt a little bit more at ease with everything. The dark didn’t feel so threatening anymore ; because no matter what, he knew he would never be alone in it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonny and Pete have been friends for so long they don't hide anything from each other. But do they really ? When family gets in the way, is it worth losing your best friend just to protect him ?
> 
> CW. Slight violence/family abuse hinted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update ! I've had a really overbooked month but I've finally time to write again so expect the next chapter soon this time :)
> 
> Thank you everyone who sent kudos and commented ! I really appreciate it <3
> 
> We're now starting to get into the story :)

The next day, Sonny had a family day with his cousin and his fiancee. They spent it mostly inside, cooking, watching TV and loudly singing pop songs to Usnavi’s dismay. It was a nice day, so nice Sonny almost didn’t want it to end. But as soon as they said good night, he was out. The weather was nice that day, a bit colder than usual but nothing he couldn’t handle. He knew where to go and he walked there quickly. Got to a building, up a dumpster and he was on the roof. Their roof. And obviously Pete was already there.

Sonny walked carefully to where his best friend was sitting cross legged and sat beside him, his legs dangling off the edge.

“Hi.

\- Hey, Pete smiled. You’re here late today.

\- I had a family day.”

Back in the day, these were words telling Pete that Sonny had had a bad day. But nowadays, he knew it often meant nice food and relaxing programs. It was amazing how Sonny’s situation had changed in the space of a few years. From hell-ish to not perfect but way enough. The boys’ relationship had only grown stronger over the years. 

This is why Sonny immediately knew that something was off today. The way Pete was fidgeting, a bit more silent than usual. But what really put Sonny off was the way he didn’t looked at him directly. Pete had always had this annoying way of looking at you right in the eyes, never looking away, making you feel like he could directly read your deepest thoughts. Making you feel like he knew you better than yourself. Even after years of knowing him, Sonny was still not used to that feeling ; especially that it made it incredibly difficult for him not to get lost in those hazel eyes and forget what they were talking about.

As annoying as it was, now that Pete was avoiding his eyes, it made him miss that connection. It was blatantly obvious that something was wrong. They were silent for a few minutes, watching the sunset together, Pete had offered him a beer but he had stopped drinking his. The air was cool ; it was the nicest moment of the day to be out. It would have been a really great moment, hadn’t it been for the wall Pete had built between them.

“Hey, is something wrong ?”

Pete laughed it off.

“What are you talking about ?

\- I don’t know, you seem off.

\- You’re the one being off. I’m just enjoying this.” Pete answered while gesturing toward the sunset, never stopping to look at his friend.

No matter what, Sonny wasn’t believing a word he said tonight. He knew there was something ; he could feel it. But he decided to let it go for now ; as he knew he wouldn’t get anything from Pete if he had decided not to talk about it. Though no matter what it was, he could at least try and get his mind off it.

“Vanessa and I forced Usnavi to a karaoke party ; you should have seen his face while we were singing he was so embarrassed it was priceless.”

That made Pete laughed ; even though the wall was still there, Sonny could see a crack form in it.

“We did the best rendition ever of Don’t speak you would have been impressed.

\- I’m sure I’d have. Did you bless them with your favourite song ? Pete started humming the chorus of Go your own way.

\- Oh fuck off !” Sonny shoved him and they started laughing. Good. As long as he could make him laugh, he knew everything was alright between them.

“How is your cousin anyway ? Does he still hate me ?

\- Yo come on he doesn’t hate you ! You know he’s just playing the overprotective sibling.

\- Yeah well it’s been years and I still can’t come to your place while he’s here.

\- What, do you want to be invited to family karaokes ? Sonny laughed.

\- You would be surprised how well I can fire up that stage.

\- Fuck I really want to see this now.

\- Make it happen prince.”

Sonny smiled. Younger he had always hated this kind of nicknames, it had always felt like people were treating him like a child and it had always been a reminder of how people were seeing him. But with Pete, it just felt right. Probably because he had always made sure it was okay to use them before actually using them. Something about respect.

“I will talk to Usnavi okay ? But you know how stubborn he is.

\- Yeah it’s a family thing.

\- Yo ! You’re worse than me !

\- Yeah ?

\- … No not really I’m a stubborn shit.

\- You’ no shit.” Pete finally looked at Sonny and as their eyes met, Sonny forgot whatever he was going to say next. He usually got back his words pretty quickly but this time, as he wasn’t prepared, he just couldn’t get his tongue to work. They looked at each other for a few moments, god knows how long, before Pete looked at the sun again and started talking.

“It’s almost dark, you should go. I’ll get you home.

\- I can walk on my own you know.

\- I know.”

They got back down the roof together and Pete started walking Sonny home. Even if he never said it, Sonny knew that he was doing it for his safety. With the amount of shit he had gotten a few years back, Pete had never let him walk at night on his own anymore. Even though things had changed now, they would have been naive to let their guard down. To be honest, as this meant spending more time with his best friend, Sonny was ok with it.

Once they got in view of Sonny’s place, Pete stopped him to ruffle his hair before putting his cap back on the right way around ; basically what he knew would annoy the fuck out of Sonny. It was his way of saying good night and don’t forget about me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow yeah ? Sonny asked.

\- Yeah. Sleep tight and don’t annoy your cousin too much about me.

\- You know I will though.”

Pete smiled and Sonny stopped a second looking at him before forcing himself to walk to his door. He found his keys and slipped inside, not before giving another look to his best friend who always made sure he was inside before going away. He was used to this, going in while seeing Pete on the other side of the road in his sleeveless hoodie, watching him with a smile he could see even in the darkest of nights. But, somehow, he still felt a little sad closing the door knowing he was inside and Pete was out. 

That night, Sonny didn’t sleep much. He had started to have nightmares again and he woke up at 5am eager to see his best friend. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonny and Pete have been friends for so long they don't hide anything from each other. But do they really ? When family gets in the way, is it worth losing your best friend just to protect him ?
> 
> CW. Slight violence/family abuse hinted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'RE GETTING INTO THE STORY NOW
> 
> Drama is bound to happen when I'm the author. Let it be known.
> 
> Also thank you to everyone supporting this project, and to my beta reader Ashton who's amazing <3

When Sonny came down this morning, his cousin was in a deep conversation with Benny. He decided to go and make himself some breakfast before going to greet them : never start talking before coffee. There was no door between the kitchen and the living room where they were chatting so he could hear them talk while he was cleaning a bowl to put cereals in it.

“... thought that would stop happening. They were like five on him.

\- Someone saw them ?

\- I don’t know, Daniela heard it at the salon. Everyone keeps talking about it.

\- Man. Glad they rushed him to the hospital. Hope the guy will be okay.

\- That’s what you get for dealing with these kinds of folks.

\- Come one give the guy a break Usnavi. He’s not that bad.

\- Hey what’ya talking about ?” Sonny interrupted them, entering the room with a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereals, the spoon in his mouth.

There was a pause, too long for it not to mean bad news. Usnavi started fiddling with the controler to try and get the TV to work and Benny gave him a look. This couldn’t mean anything good. Sonny froze standing in the door frame.

“What happened ?”

Usnavi finally started talking, passing a hand on his neck without really looking at his little cousin.

“Eh, nothing, there was a fight last night. Rumour has it ‘t’was a few guys from a gang.

\- Is everyone okay ? Did something happened to someone ?”

Another pause.

“No one we know o-

\- Pete, Benny interrupted, rumours say he’s been rushed to hospital.

\- What ?” Sonny couldn’t believe what had just been said. How ; when did that happen ? He was with him last night. He closed his door on his smiling face. What the fuck happened after that ? Pete was a big guy. No one tried to take the piss out of him. Out of Sonny, yes, and they often regretted doing it because his best friend was always here to remind them that they shouldn’t do that. But Pete ? They wouldn’t jump him. 

Sonny was still in a dissociated state when Usnavi started talking again, breaking his bubble.

“This is exactly why I don’t want you going around with this punk. This is what happens with him.

\- … What ? He didn’t start a fight. He was attacked by a gang.

\- You don’t know that. He must have done something to provoke them.

\- Pete wouldn’t provoke a fight.

\- Yeah well I know his kind.

\- I know him.

\- You’re too young Sonny, you need to start realising he’s not a good person to be around.

\- You need to realise I’m not a freaking child anymore and Pete is my friend.

\- Swearing, Sonny ! You’re getting that from him ! You shouldn’t see him again, it should have stopped years ago !

\- Yeah ? Well fuck you Usnavi.” Sonny slammed both his cup and bowl on the nearest table, spilling milk everywhere but right now, he couldn’t care less. He would apologize to Vanessa later about it, but right now, Pete was in hospital, and Sonny was at home. That wasn’t right. Taking advantage of his cousin being shocked by his answer and of a tired-of-this-shit Benny, he grabbed his hoodie and cap and ran outside. 

The nearest hospital was far away and he didn’t have any money for a cab so he just didn’t stop running. His ribs quickly started hurting and he probably should have stopped but he didn’t. He couldn’t shake the mental picture of a bleeding Pete he had stuck in his mind since he left the house. For him to accept to be taken into a hospital, it must have been really serious. Sonny couldn’t imagine his best friend still capable of walking going willingly into any kind of medical house. He must have been badly hurt. He must have been unconscious. What the hell happened.

Sonny had to stop along the way because he just couldn’t breathe anymore. He stopped his back against a wall and let himself fall on the floor for a bit. If his heart would stop trying to get out of his chest and if his ribs would stop crushing his lungs, he could get to the hospital within the hour. If Pete had been here, he would have made fun of him for being lightweight and Sonny would have answered that it was hard to be anything else with something constantly crushing his ribs. But Pete wasn’t here. Like Pete wasn’t at the hospital.

When Sonny got to the building and asked to visit his friend, the lady at the reception told him he wasn’t here anymore.

“What ?

\- He checked out a few moments ago.

\- But he… was he in a state to check out ?

\- I mean… we can’t keep someone in against their will. He could walk.

\- Fucking… sorry, okay, thank you.” Sonny had missed him. The good news was that he was out, so he was conscious enough to make that choice and go on with his life. The bad news was that Sonny knew him, and he would have decided to check out even if he had lost an eye and broke his arm.

The young boy decided to rest a bit at the hospital before going back, more slowly. He had no way of finding Pete in the city without him wanting to, but he couldn’t bear the idea of simply going home and waiting so he spent a good chunk of the day walking around, talking to a few people on the way. Still, he ended up back on the roof in the barrio, with a small hope that Pete would be waiting for him there. He wasn’t.

But Sonny stayed there. He sat and looked over the barrio and waited. He was cold but he didn’t care, because all he could feel was worry ; and maybe a bit of sadness that his friend wouldn’t come to him after something like that had happened. He knew if he spent the night there Usnavi would be dead worried and probably scold him a bit more the next morning ; but right now he didn’t really care about that either. He knew it was wrong, and he had been mean to him this morning but he needed to know. He needed to see Pete before he could get his feelings into control and act wisely again.

Sonny must have fallen asleep at some point, because the sun woke him up, curled up and shivering on the roof. The barrio was starting to wake up too. He straightened up, looked around with the hope that something had happened during the night - that someone had come here - but there was no sign of his best friend around. And for the first time, Sonny was truly scared.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonny and Pete have been friends for so long they don't hide anything from each other. But do they really ? When family gets in the way, is it worth losing your best friend just to protect him ?
> 
> CW. Slight violence/family abuse hinted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a short but necessary one. It goes hand in hand with the next one, so I'll try and not keep you waiting for too long !

The following days were the hardest ones. Sonny spent them in a haze ; hurt, tired from restless sleeps but mostly lost. He had came home this morning, and Usnavi gave him one of the biggest hugs he had ever given him. He even apologized for how he had behaved the day before but told him to never disappear like that again. Sonny almost started crying seeing his cousin had been so worried, but instead he took the breakfast Vanessa was giving him to bed and laid there without eating it. 

Every day, he went to the roof, stayed there a few hours but always came home before night time. He didn’t do anything there, he just waited. He didn’t even listened to music ; he didn’t felt like it. Each day, Sonny was experiencing a new emotion about this : worry, anger, hurt, sadness, and ultimately he ended up not feeling anything anymore. He couldn’t help but still come to the roof, just in case.

When a week later Sonny walked to the building and could see a silhouette on top of it, every muscles in his body who had come to a stop suddenly woke up. He ran. He almost fell on top of the dumpster, probably made too much noise, but ended up on the roof safely. And there he was. His back to him. There was no way Pete had not heard him coming, but he was still sitting there, not making any move towards Sonny. That probably was what set up the boy’s mood to anger.

“Where the fuck have you been ?!”

From the lack of reaction from Pete’s end, Sonny quickly realised that anger was not the best way to handle this. He wanted to go to him, he wanted to punch him, hug him, do anything, but instead he just walked and sat beside him, his legs tucked under him.

Pete didn’t look too good. He had a black eye and what looked like a deep cut near his lip. And that was after a week… Sonny couldn’t help but feel extreme sadness. He couldn’t bear to see his friend like this. How much he would have wanted to be there for him that night.

“Hey Pete… what happened ?

\- Same old shit Sonny. We don’t live in heaven. This happens.” His voice was tired, like he hadn’t really talked in a long time. He wasn’t looking at Sonny ; he wasn’t looking at anything. His eyes were in that same haze Sonny had been in for the past week.

“No, not to you, not that hard.

\- Well I guess now it does.

\- Have you really been to the hospital ?

\- Are you a cop ? Can we stop the interrogation ?

\- But-

\- Just let it go Sonny.”

Silence followed. Pete proposed him a beer but Sonny ignored it. He knew he should let it go. If Pete didn’t want to talk about something, he wouldn’t. They should go back to talking about everyday, casual topics. He should try to make him laugh. They would walk him home. Pete would disappear into the night. They’ll go back to their routine and never talk about this again. But he couldn’t let it go. He didn’t care about the massive wall between them, he couldn’t stay silent. Even if it meant making the wall thicker ; even if it meant breaking it and seeing something he didn’t like behind it.

“No. No I won’t. You don’t get to fucking disappear for a week after everyone leave you for dead and come back telling me to “let it go”. I’m not that dumb.

\- Stop searching into this Sonny. It was just a fight.

\- But it wasn’t just a fight ! You’re not a “just a fight” guy. You don’t go around having “just fights”.

\- You don’t know what kind of guy I am.

\- Then tell me.

\- I don’t owe you fuck Sonny ! We’re not married or some shit ; let this fucking go !” Pete knocked over a can of beer and it went crashing on the ground below them, making Sonny jump. But it wasn’t what left Sonny speechless. Pete’s words kept repeating inside his head. He didn’t owe him anything. As much as he knew they were said out of anger - or even fear - they still hurt. After all these years and all they went through, together, Sonny wasn’t expecting to hear that. He didn’t even care if Pete regretted saying it right now.

“I’ll walk home alone, Sonny said while getting up.

\- No you won’t.”

And knowing perfectly that he couldn’t keep Pete from following him, Sonny just got down the roof and starting walking home. They walked in total silence. He still wanted to punch him ; wanted him to say something, but it was only silence and soon Sonny got to his house. He went in without looking back.

As soon as he closed the door, Sonny knew he couldn’t really let this go. He couldn’t go to sleep like nothing happened. He went to his window and, seeing Pete walking away, he took a decision in a few seconds. Because in a few seconds, Pete would have disappeared into the night and he wouldn’t be able to find him anymore. Letting fear inside, Sonny reopened his door and slipped outside, pulling his hood up on his head. He couldn’t let this go. He wouldn’t let this go.

Sonny started walking, his eyes never leaving Pete’s silhouette. Never letting go of him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonny and Pete have been friends for so long they don't hide anything from each other. But do they really ? When family gets in the way, is it worth losing your best friend just to protect him ?
> 
> CW. Slight violence/family abuse hinted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just when I said I wouldn't keep you waiting...
> 
> I'm sorry for the delay, life happened but I'm back and here's finally this chapter ! Thank you everyone for your patience with me.
> 
> If you want to follow more what I do and what I'm up to, I post a lot on twitter (rainbow_white_) :)

They walked for quite some time. Sonny wasn’t used to walking this late at night ; everything he knew about the barrio was taking quite another look at night. The usual streets, the same old houses, they looked more foreign, less… safe. It was like a whole other world was unfolding before his eyes. Of course, he had been outside at night before. But always with people. Partying. Or with his best friend. With Pete, he had always felt safe. He didn’t have to worry where they were, or what was around, because he knew with him he would always be okay. And he always had been.

This was different. He wasn’t with Pete ; not really. Of course he could see his silhouette, but he was fast, he knew his way around and Sonny knew that if he didn’t see him anymore, he would be lost for good. He didn’t have time to take in his surroundings ; following Pete, making sure he couldn’t see him, that was all that preoccupied Sonny.

Any other nights, Pete would probably have realised he was being followed. But tonight he had others things on his mind, and that played on Sonny’s favour. They now were in a whole other neighborhood and it wasn’t long until Pete turned around a corner between two houses. Sonny almost got caught because he didn’t expect this to be a dead end and backtracked last minute. He hid behind dumpsters when he realised the dead end was actually the entryway of a house, and someone suddenly opened the door when Pete got to it.

“Where the fuck have you been ?”

The man on the doorstep was tall, not much more than Pete but he looked so much… bigger. There was something unsettling about him. Seeing him was enough for Sonny to curl up on himself, and he could see his friend fighting not to do the same.

“I-

\- You shut up when I talk to you. I got work to do, I got clients waiting and you disappear on me like that ?! Are you trying to fuck me up ?!

\- ‘m doin’ m’best dad.”

Sonny couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of this man being Pete’s dad. He was now literally yelling on his son and Sonny wouldn’t have been surprised if he had started hitting him. Had Pete even had been jumped by a gang ? What the fuck had actually happened, for real ?

Lost in his thoughts, Sonny didn’t realised he had been leaning on a precarious pile of garbage and soon enough, it fell and he almost fell in it, making more sound than any of the previous yelling had been making.

“Who the fuck is that ?! Come out here fucker !”

The man was starting to go down the steps to go find Sonny and, from the look on his face, he would probably kill him if he found him spying on them. Sonny scrambled to get up when Pete stopped his dad.

“Wait ! It’s probably just some random bum, let it go dad ; come inside, I got you food.”

His dad pushed away Pete’s hands and looked out while Sonny was holding his breath, hidden by the darkness of the streets. Sonny had seen hate before, but the look on this man’s face was something else. This man looked like he had nothing else to lose anymore.

After a few seconds that seemed like hours, he turned away and went inside, Pete following him ; not before looking back a last time into the darkness. It was only when they closed the door that Sonny started breathing again. His heart was racing and he just realised tears had been running down his face. As soon as he could feel his legs again, he got up and ran. He raced back to his place, to his barrio as fast as he could. He only stopped running when he finally could see his house, and once there he only took a few seconds to get back his breath under control because entering the house.

It’s only when he kicked his shoes and got into bed that he silently started crying, curled up in a ball under his blanket. Because now he remembered all the times when he was in bed, after he would close the door on Pete’s smile, every night ; all the times he would wonder where he went, what he’d do. Now, he knew where he had been. He knew where he was. And in the safety of his own bed, of his own family ; Sonny couldn’t bear knowing.


End file.
